Marti builds skywards in Switzerland

The Wolff 7532.16 and the Wolff 180B luffing crane (left) at Roche Building 1. Due to the unusual shape of the building, the initially used Wolff 6023.8 was replaced by the Wolff 180 B after a certain

General contractor Marti AG has put three Wolff tower cranes to work on the construction of the Roche Building 1 in Switzerland.

The Roche Building 1 will be 178 metres tall and it is for pharmaceutical company F. Hoffmann-La Roche. The offices are scheduled to open later in 2015 and will provide space for around 2,000 employees.

To help build the new offices Marti put one each Wolff 7532.16, 6023.8 and 180 B tower cranes on site. The 7532.16 saddle jib crane has a 70 m jib and load capacity of 4 tonnes at the tip. It was set up at the rear of the building and climbed alongside the high-rise to its final tower height of 191.5 m; including the portal foundation base, the hook height was 204 m.

Along the side of the building that tapered upwards, a Wolff 6023.8 was erected. That crane was later replaced by a 180 B with a 45 m jib due to the increasing distance between the crane and the building.

Saddle jib tower cranes follow very similar design principles wherever the cranes originate. It is a different story, however, for luffing jib tower cranes where manufacturers follow their own rules. Heinz-Gert Kessel reports